| Sensory Integration (SI), is the ability to take in sensory information from
one's body and from the environment, to organize this information, and to
use it to function in daily life. For most children, sensory integration
develops in the course of ordinary childhood activities. Motor planning is
a natural outcome of the process, as is the ability to respond to incoming
sensation in a functional manner. The sensory systems include
seeing,smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting. Less familiar systems are:
Vestibular: processing information about movement, gravity and balance,
which is received through the inner ear.
Tactile: processing information about touch, which is received primarily
through the skin.
Proprioceptive: processing information about body position and body parts,
which is received through the muscles, ligaments, and joints.
SENSORY INTEGRATIVE DYSFUNCTION: This occurs in the central nervous system.
When a glitch occurs, the brain cannot analyze, organize, and connect
sensory messages. The result is that the child cannot respond to sensory
information in order to behave in a meaningful and consistent way. He may
have difficulty planning and organizing what he needs to do. This affects
all types of learning. You will also hear the term sensory defensiveness
which is when a child reacts negatively to sensory input. There are several
types of sensory defensiveness.
SIGNS OF SI DYSFUNCTION:
Overly sensitive to touch, movement, sight, or sounds (ie- irritability or
withdrawal when touched, avoidance of certain textures, foods, fearful
reaction to ordianry movement)
Under sensitive to sensory stimulation (ie-may seek our intense experiences
such as crashing, whirling; oblivious to pain or body position). Some
children fluctuate between over and under responsiveness.
Activity Level- Unusally high or low (ie- may constantly move or may be slow
to move)
Coordination Delays (gross or fine motor. May have difficualty learning a
new task that requires motor coordination)
Delays in speech, language, motor skills, or academic skills
Poor organization (ie- impulsiveness; distractability; difficulty with
tranistions; aggression)
**Rememeber every child is different and may demonstrate more than one or
more of the above signs. It is typical for the signs to vary in terms of
intensity and frequency on a daily basis.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
Carol Kranowitz. "The Out of Sync Child"
This is a highly recommended book for parents. The language is very easy to
understand.
A. Jean Ayres, PhD, OTR "Sensory Integration and the Child"
Dr. Aryes wrote this book for parents of children with SI so it is reader
friendly.
Stanley Greensspan. "The Challenging Child"
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